Q & A with... Gary Pino - Chapparrels Diecast
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If you collect 1:18 scale Champ Car/CART racing diecast, it is likely you have heard of Chapparrels Diecast. He is one of the top diecast conversionist in the 1:18 diecast community and he's got the clientele to back his rep.
How did Gary become the guy you go to when you want that custom Champ Car/CART that UT or Action Performance just didn't want to produce?
His humble beginnings were like that of any boy who loved cars and loved to draw. As a kid in Kindergarten, his mother was called in one day because of a picture he had drawn. Believing it was something vulgar Gary had drawn at home, she was worried he was in trouble. To her surprise, the teacher handed her a Fred Flintstone picture he had drawn. The teacher was very impressed with the drawing, as it was well beyond anyone else his age would be drawing. His artistic talents as a child also included painting ceramic figures with his mother (who is a painter and an artist in her own right), painting small players for then Tudor Games electric football games. As he got older, his interest evolved to building lots of sprint cars - all open cockpit USAC cars. But it was the Tamiya F1 kits that got Gary into the open wheel-racing world. He loved doing the McLaren kits and would build any Tamiya kit that was available.
A few years later, he was introduced to 1:43 scale CART racecars. He started to convert them and really became involved in doing them. His favorite cars were the Penskes and when Tobacco decals becaome available to convert these cars, he was hooked. He converted enough to do a small amount of work on Ebay for a few years. He still has some of his old customers requesting these cars!
Things really began to move for him when he converted a ' 92 Penske and believes he helped initiate the whole market for these types of converted diecast racecars. He feels that what he did, was start something that anyone who wanted to venture into conversions, could do if they had some talent and a passion for race cars. It takes a lot of courage to ruin a car that was expensive and make something different - something not readily available to the collector. Once the requests for conversions started to come in, he knew he could make a good side business of this. He enjoys doing these conversions and gains satisfaction from making cars that are not being produced. It's almost an obsession for him to be different and to stay ahead of a lot of talented conversion artists currently producing these types of cars. He admits that he fortunate to be in just the right place and at the right time when he entered into this area of diecast cars.
His work has been seen and has sold his cars to collectors worldwide. Companies like Gatorz sunglasses, Design Junkies and automotive paint companies provide support in his business endeavors.
One18: Thanks for letting us have a few minutes of your time. I know that it is a valuable commodity with the hectic schedule you carry.
How do you feel about operating what is arguably the foremost 1:18 scale Champ Car conversion/specialty diecast business running today?
Gary: Thanks Vic, I feel pretty good. I guess satisfied with everything that has happened to me so far. Life can be pretty good sometime!
One18: Did you expect to be in the business position that you are in today?
Gary: Absolutely not! I always wanted to be comfortable in general. I never had or have aspirations to be a rich stiff, who has no fun. I enjoy hanging' out, and being normal with a touch of wiseass. My parents are great people who really helped me get my foot in the door from day 1, so I owe them everything I have today.
One18: What do you envision as the future for Chapparrels Diecast and Gary Pino?
Gary: That's a great question, because it changes from day to day. I want the business to remain fun and still remain creative. I am working hard to get certified and be able to get into doing custom tanks and helmets in the future. That's always gonna be there and there is a huge demand for guys who can do it and basically compete with the west coast detailers.
One18: Knowing that you have provided several cars to numerous teams in the Champ Car series, how do the teams and folks from Champ Car feel about the cars you make?
Gary: They treat us like royalty. First class is all I can say. Their good people like you and me and I feel blessed to be able to make teams, drivers, etc. happy. When a driver or crewmember says your stuff is just like what they work on you know you doing something right.
One18: Has Chapparrels run into any legal issues when producing certain cars and their liveries?
Gary: No, and I don't want to jinx it. There were bloggers running with a rumor about us in legal trouble and it just totally BS. I don't stock cars and sell them. I make them individually by hand. The one thing that is vitally important for me is when Champ Car or anyone connected calls, I have to drop everything and do what they need. It's a common courtesy but normal customers don't understand this, and they are going to have to because I am working for them and you cant screw the organization over by holding them up. People can wait. And they always say it's worth it in the end.
One18: What does it take to make a Chapparrels custom 1:18 Champ Car?
Gary: Well the old way was using donor cars sent to us by unhappy fans. A Lola would be gutted, stripped down to the bare metal, cut up, and fabrication would begin. Basically between etching primer, which needs 2 days to cure, and regular primer your looking at a week before painting can begin.
One18: How many cars do you produce on a weekly/basis?
Gary: It depends. On a great week, we can get 1 car a week (2 the most). Jimmy Dolan has a lot to do with this because he is an artist and I can call him and have my art here in 2 days. He and Earl Ma are amazing. I am not just saying this because they work with me, but they are the best in the world at what I need.
One18: What is the average cost for a Chapparrels custom 1:18 Champ Car?
Gary: Usually no more than 450.00 US. There are guys out there who charge the same and the cars look like they were hatched from an egg. It takes nuts to put your name on something and sell it to a fan. This is horrible experience for the fan. We have so many cars guys would rather pay us to redo, and sometimes I feel so bad for them, I will do it for free. And I have done it a lot. Find someone else who would even consider that!
One18: Do you work with anyone else in producing these cars?
Gary: As far as doing the actual work, no. I tried and I can't get anyone I feel comfortable with in that aspect. My son Kyle is going to be superior to me and he is already doing things I did 15 years ago. The kid is a prodigy. He is 6 and can talk on a level that some adults can't even follow. He is also an honor student and I have no idea where he gets it from since I sucked in school! Earl Ma and James Dolan are our artists and my brain trusts. I rely heavily on their input. Earl is a veteran and has a wide resume of things he will do. Jimmy is like that star pitcher who never got a shot to pitch in a big game and when he did, he was lights out; a diamond in the rough. And I consider both, family as well.
One18: To date, which creation would you say has been your favorite?
Gary: Well the Playboy car (the original) was just amazing. We got invited to the mansion, and come to find out the car originally was for a team member, and they gave it to Hugh Hefner for his 80th birthday. And, to top that, the car is in his bedroom. The other stud, was the Warriors in Pink car for Katherine Legge. Carey Hall who is the in house painter for Ranger helped me tremendously with the actual paint and step-by-step instructions. Not to mention worked hand in hand with Jimmy on the graphics. It's been a great year with the cars, but a horrible one, on a personal level. I am so glad `06 is gone, and feel like 07 will be much better. I am happy Earl is doing better and the entire diecast/ racing community is thrilled as well. He is good people. And he knows we love him.
One18: What did Katherine think about the " Warriors in Pink " car?
Gary: Well first off I had a touch of Laryngitis when she called, so I was trying to get my voice somewhat clear so I could speak to her. She is so sweet. She said "Hi Gary, its Kat" and with her accent I knew it was her. The guys at the shop surprised her I guess over the weekend, because she had just gotten it. She said it was just amazing. You could really tell what it meant to her, and it was just awesome. I explained how I got the ribbons on it and the paint from the guys at the shop and I think we really blew her away? She has a personal reminder on her steering wheel, which the guys always put on there for her, and when Jimmy made the wheel mark for the car and, we duplicated her message and she loved it. She is training very hard this off-season for 07.
I told her how scared I was when she had that accident. You can tell she is not afraid and was ready to get back in a race car ASAP. One thing I was surprised about, was that she is going to run another 'Warriors in Pink' car this season. Katherine is very sweet and very generous. I told her to call me if she needed anything in the future. What a great way to start off the new year.
One18: What is the most requested CCWS team car you have received to date?
Gary: Easy question, the 2002 KOOL green and blue cars. The 2002 Cristiano Da Matta has become popular lately and one car that has had fans interest has been the Blue Light Special K-Mart car driven by Christian Fittipaldi.
One18: What was the most difficult car you have produced to date?
Gary: Probably the Legge? The car was hard from top to bottom. There is a huge difference between high down force and low, and this car was a beast to make. Days and hours of fabrication, not too mention the 30 some ribbons ghosted in the paint. I don't think it could have come out any better?
One18: You produce mainly Champ Cars. What other cars have you produced?
Gary: A lot. I love doing Crawfords, and anything that interests me. I have to be into it to get into the project. I am doing `The Late Show Car' for David Letterman. When I am not sure, but it was designed by Wilson Philippe and they loved the prototype. Wilson (Nelson's little brother) is the best 3d designer I have worked with. And he designed the new Lola I have in production as well. The kid has skills. The Nelson family is A very, talented family all the way around.
One18: Have you produced any cars specifically for certain drivers in Champ Car?
Gary: Yes, a lot, but they wish to remain anonymous in some cases, so I plan of keeping it that way.
One18: Do you currently have any special projects you are working on?
Gary: Oh sure, over the holidays I did a lot of sketches and really set up what I want to do this year. One thing that was really cool, and we are going to do it again this season was working with Mark Alousis (Designjunkies.ca) on Jim Wenger III's (Global Canadian TV) who races in Canada with his Kart. I was proud to sponsor Jimmy's Kart and last season we took 3rd in the championship. Also this year I promoted Sebastian Bach's US/Canadian tour and I will be promoting his new CD, Angel Down. Maybe with any luck I can talk Sebastian to coming back home in Canada to sing the anthem for the Molson Indy of Toronto this season? I don't think he realizes how many fans he has in the racing community?
One18: With the ongoing debacle that American open wheel racing currently finds itself in, what do you see as the future for 1:18 Champ Car diecast collectibles and how will Chapparrels fit into this scenario?
Gary: Sad situation isn't it? But I am proud of Champ Car because they drew a line in the sand and said this is the way it is going to be. The IRL had their chance and their heading south like the “Heart of the Ocean” from Titanic. I wish the drivers well, but Tony George is a cancer for his own cause. On the other hand on the diecast front you have giants like Toronto Motorsports working overtime to make sure fans get models every year. So I think we are all driven and have the same interests at heart? Derrick is a good guy, and that's the kind of drive we need to keep open wheel a priority. I will tell you that 70% of diecast stores have written Champ Car diecast's off and don't even order them. If there were more TOMO's, there would be more demand and happier fans. That's just the bottom line, Vic.
One18: With CCWS introducing the new Panoz DP01 chassis for the 2007, how will Chapparrels handle producing the newer cars?
Gary: First off we are making the current Lolas, which are in production as we speak. These will be our own line of cars, produced for the Lola fans, and teams. The new Panoz I am not doing anything until we see a production effort from someone. If nothing happens, I will take it by the horns and have them made. All this is a very costly endeavor. But as far as I am concerned I will have them, and nobody should worry.
One18: How did you become associated with Gatorz Sunglasses and the other sponsors that Chapparrels has?
Gary: Well, Gatorz not only makes sunglasses. They make custom skateboards that are used in like the X-Games! They are huge on the west coast. Kerry Lynch is a class act and runs an unreal business. I think as far as what I was doing and working close to Champ Car it was a win-win for both. They took care of us for 2 years now, and I will continue to promote their products, which are the best in the world. As far as our finishes being in the auto industry since 1986, I had great connections. And now that we have help inside the box, it's only getting better.
One18: Thanks again, Gary, for taking the time to share your thoughts and cooments with us.
Gary: Thank you, Vic. One18 Racing is a great website and resource for those of use who share your passion for 1:18 scale race cars and for racing in general. Your support for Chapparrels has been instrumental for it's online presence and continued growth. Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!
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